MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/. Tasks to secure and protect the rights and legitimate interests of Russian nationals and compatriots abroad were discussed at a meeting of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s board, the ministry said after the meeting led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The ministry said that on the whole, work to ensure and protect the rights and legitimate interests of Russian nationals and compatriots abroad is "held at a proper level."

"Consolidation of the compatriot movement, the growth of its civil and political activity, including on securing the legitimate rights of compatriots in countries of their permanent residence, prevention of their discrimination on any grounds are continuing," it said.

"Close attention was paid to a number of alarming tendencies with ensuring the rights and legal interests of compatriots in Ukraine and in the Baltic states, especially with account for a lack of substantial progress in the cause of statelessness liquidation," the ministry said.

As a priority, the meeting participants noted interaction with a multi-million Russian diaspora in order to preserve its ethno-cultural uniqueness and spiritual values, the Russian language and culture.